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Wilwood Engineering offers an
extensive line of high performance disc brake calipers for a wide range of
applications. Determining the suitability
of a caliper for a specific need is crucial to the overall performance of the
brake system. This overview will help in the selection process by
familiarizing you with general design characteristics of our calipers.
Racing disc brake calipers are essentially sophisticated hydraulic clamps,
designed to house a specific brake pad in a package that is lightweight, rigid
and resists heat over prolonged high temperature brake use. Wilwood addresses
these issues in every caliper model through material selection and design. All
Wilwood caliper housings are constructed of specific aluminum alloys, either
cast or billet, to achieve maximum rigidity with minimum weight. Heat transfer
from the brake pad to the fluid, housing, and seal is minimized by
manufacturing pistons from stainless steel, a material known for its
resistance to thermal conductivity. The piston’s heat path is further
reduced by utilizing a thin wall deep cup design; the less heat transferred
through the piston, the cooler the caliper operates. High temperature caliper
seals are designed to control piston retraction resulting in a firmer, more
responsive pedal.
Other innovative features designed into our calipers are pad retainers to
facilitate ease of pad change, reinforced pad wear surfaces, bridge bolts to
enhance caliper stiffness, differential piston bore configurations to
eliminate pad taper, and insulated stainless steel heat shields to retard heat
absorption into the caliper body. Stiffening ribs are incorporated into some
models to increase rigidity. Most calipers are tapped with 1/8-27 NPT fluid
inlets, and all external fluid crossover tubes are protected by a high
temperature RTV dampening material.
Wilwood Engineering manufactures all calipers with a protective black finish
to resist corrosion and accelerate heat dissipation.
With these features in mind, refer to the following pages for caliper
applications and specifications.
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